Advice needed for hiring a contractor.

[wildeyed]

So I have pretty much decided to hire a contractor to do my kitchen remodel this summer. I think we are capable of doing the work, but we don't have the time and I am sick of waiting.

I have interviewed two contractors so far. One of them I flat out hated, so he is out. The second I really like, he has some good ideas and he gave me a price I think is fair. I got his name form a site called Angie's List. Basically, people rate the service of local businesses and post their observations online. This guy gets good ratings there. In addition, he has a "Privilege License", whatever that is, insurance, bonding, a good Better Business Bureau rating, is a NARI member, and a Certified Lead Carpenter. I plan to go look at a job or two he has done, just to see the quality of workmanship. Is there anything else I need to check before I hire the guy? I need to give him a substantial deposit to get on his list for this summer and I want to be sure it doesn't walk away, and that I get decent workmanship.

[Stinky The Clown]

1. I think you've done all the right stuff .......

The only other thing that would be better is to have gotten his name from a trusted friend. Given what you've said, it seems you've done all the right stuff.

[wildeyed]

2. I wasn't able to find anyone who liked their contractor enough

to recommend them. Sad.

[Berserker]

3. Sad to hear

since I am a contractor. Best thing to do is look at some of his work and talk to the home owners. I hear so many bad stories about contractors it's just not fair because there are so many good ones out there.

[wildeyed]

5. My parents love theirs.

But they live in another state, so it won't help me.

[eleny]

4. Have a bunch of contractors out to bid your project

The more that come out, the more you'll learn about your house and them. It's helped us.

[Berserker]

12. Have a bunch of contractors out to bid your project

Wow thats great advice since we don't have anything else to do anyway.
While you and yours are trying to make a living everyday we contractors will just spend our time driving around giving FREE estimates.
The typical amount of bids to obtain is 3 and as a contractor we expect that. When we see a home owner getting a "Bunch" of bids we know that the only thing the homeowner is looking for is a cheap price and not quality you can't have both.

Also it's mentioned in this thread that 50% down is high and that it is a red flag. 50% is the normal asking price on most contracts.

If a contractor asks for more than that it may be reason for concern.
If a homeowner does a little research he or she will soon find that 50% down often does not even cover all the materials the contractor has to buy.

Believe it or not there are some shady homeowners out there as well and are more than willing to find something wrong with the project just so the contractor will knock money off the back end.
On a room addition we completed the homeowner bitched about the entry door that we paid extra for because the hinges were to shinny.

[shanti]

20. ahhh a contractor

may i ask you a question? what if the contractor bids a job in which both parties sign, and then 2/3 of the way thru, said contractor feels he's underbid the job?

also, mine let a neighbor in my home to check out his work when i wasn't home! is was NOT friendly with this neighbor either and would never have allowed him into my home. very unethical, don't you think? i was like a volcano when i heard what happened! :grr:

[Berserker]

21. Well

To answer your question. If the contractor bid the job and has a written contract with you and then says he bid the job to low well thats just to bad. This does happen but it's no ones fault but his.
You may want to ask him a question, If you bid it to high would you have give me money back at the completion? I don't think so.
Yes I do think it's unethical to let anyone in your home when you are not there. The contractor is responsible for any missing or damaged items or possible injury to the person.
In some contracts a contractor may state that the homeowner may not enter the property without the contractors permission. (new home construction)

[troubleinwinter]

24. This is why you MUST hire a LICENSED CONTRACTOR.

And must execute a CONTRACT. The signed contract is binding, meaning 'scope of work' and 'contract amount($)'. He cannot change his $ mind down the road... it is a CONTRACT.

He is BOUND by that contract. Enforcing it if he walks away, is another matter... recourse is mostly to report him and have his license revoked (a long, drawn-out nearly impossible process that doesn't solve your problem anyway), or court. That is why references and your own judgement are vital.

[troubleinwinter]

6. "substantial deposit"

as in what? The financial arrangements ("progress payments") are very important. Usually, a monthly progress payment including materials reciepts, so that you are both up-to-date, but you should NOT be generally paying in advance... he should be solvent and reputable enough not to need your money to pay crews, and he should have some credit with his suppliers...the lumber yard, etc. If he runs a credit report on you, I'd see that as a good sign. An escrow acct. is fair for both parties (then he knows you are not a dead-beat, too). Just beware if you are advancing more than 20%.

[wildeyed]

8. He wants 50% up front,

the rest in progress payments with a final payment after the job is complete. I think something up front is fine to be certain we are not flakes and wasting his time, but 50% seems high to me, too. I purchase any big ticket items like flooring or cabinets, and he just charges for the install, so I don't know if this makes any difference. I did like this. The other guy I interviewed reps a line of expensive cabinets and was pressuring me to buy those instead of the more affordable line that I wanted.

[troubleinwinter]

10. Wow... 50% is a big red flag to me.

I'd want to talk to a LOT of his clients! He may do good workmanship, but you want to know he shows up to do the job in a timely manner. You don't want your house torn up for months! If the job is going to be done in summer, I'd want to talk to others whose jobs were done in summer.... does he stretch himself too thin?

If you really like this guy, you still might condider an escrow acct. (cost near nothing to set up). Then he knows the money is there, but with 50% upfront, there is little motivation for him to show up.

[eleny]

13. If you're going to finance this....

Ask your banker if they can help deciding how much payments will be and when.

The reason I mention this is because a friend put an addition onto their home. Their bank was brought into the process and decided how much to pay out and when. It helped enormously with the process as the contractor was sort of "on notice". Just a thought.

I wish you all the luck in the world with this important and exciting remodel!

[wildeyed]

14. I could ask, but this is not a huge or expensive job

and we are well below what we are ok'ed to borrow, so I don't know if they are interested in being that involved.

I think what is making me so nervous on this one is that I don't know anyone who has used this guy. Everything about him seems legit, but who knows? I have made really bad decisions about contractors before, so what do I know. I found a third contractor to interview, someone a friend used. After talking to him, I am going to just make a decision, quit worrying about it. Most likely, it will be ok, whatever I decide.

[babylonsister]

22. I found a great contractor several years ago by asking at

Home Depot. HD isn't supposed to recommend companies, but did and helped us out big-time. These guys were general contractors, so we had them build a patio outside and re-tile most of my house.

You could ask this contractor for references and then call a few; I also was called by future clients of the contractors we hired, asking for my opinion of them.

[troubleinwinter]

23. That isn't a bad clue.

At the contractors' counter, the clerks kinda get to know these guys. They likely get a clue who is conscientious and knowledgeable and who is not.

[politicat]

7. What I learned when I had the AC installed....

The house had central heat, but after living with a swamp (and the allergies) for a couple of years, we decided to do AC three years ago.

This applies to Denver-Metro contractors, only. YMMV, Experiences are my own, my company is not responsible for my comments, etc.

1. If the yellow page ad has a Christian fish on it, the quote will be at least 10% higher than any other company that doesn't have a fish. (Not saying that Christians overcharge - the contractor we ended up hiring has a deep and solid faith, but the "Visible Christians" are frequently trading on their so-called Christianness rather than their actual ethics and values.)

2. If they tell you that permits are unnecessary and "you need a permit to put a nail in a wall" and they don't do permitting, do not use this company. This is not the time to be anarchist-libertarian.

3. License, bond and a high BBB rating are very good things.

4. Sign a contract. Ask if s/he'll do escrow instead of a deposit until 2 weeks before work is scheduled to start. That helps keep the money from walking.

5. Check with your local water, gas, electric, etc companies to see if they have any complaints on file about any contractor you want to use. (this is also a good time to check and see if there are rebates or specials you can get by having something remodelled.)

6. Try to get an estimate from a woman-owned or minority owned company. We found that the women-owned companies in the area had better rates, more personable people and realized that cleaning up after themselves was part of the job. The woman who eventually put in our AC also found us a better system that is more power and chemically efficient than the one we looked at originally. (In my experience, woman-owned companies have to work harder to get the job in the first place, so they tend to do a better job all around.)

[wildeyed]

9. My neighbors bought a house that had been renovated

then flipped by a couple of "Visible Christians". They did things in that house that were so egregiously unethical that I am not sure how the wife even managed to keep her brokers license after the problems came to light. There were a couple of major issues that they clearly knew about and didn't include on the disclosure form. Oh well, that's what you get for buying a house from a couple with Bush Cheney '04 plastered all over their vehicles.

This guy does contracts, permits, etc. The only thing that concerns me is the high deposit amount. The escrow idea is good.

[troubleinwinter]

15. I think you make great points.

I would only say that a license, bond & insurance is a bare MINIMUM, and BBB does not tell you anything.

I also wonder if a General Contractor is right for the job. Wildeyed says it is not that huge a job. If it were me, I'd break it up.

Get a price from the cabinet supplier to install... or do that yourself. Get a price from the countertop guy to install, or do it yourself. Get a number from a plumber to install the sink & plumbing, or do it yourself. Flooring...etc.

Maybe there are aspects that you feel you can do yourself, without paying a general cont actor.

Sometimes you get a good installation price from the suppliers, because it's ALL they do, they are more efficient, because they know how to install it. A countertop guy can put it in fast... it's all he does every day. They have already made some of their markup on the product, and installation is sometimes a deal.

If it were ME, I'd go that way (and have many times), rather than a Gen. Contr. if you have an overall knowledge of construction, and want to have options and be involved.

Just thoughts!!!!!

[wildeyed]

16. I am considering that, too.

We actually installed our last kitchen ourselves, soup to nuts, and it looked great, so it is not like we are newbies at this. And I already have a plummer, electrician and paint crew that I like, plus a good reference on a floor guy. I would not try to contact an addition or something major myself, but this might be well within my abilities. Hmmmm...... I will keep thinking about it.

[NMDemDist2]

17. that's the way I think I'd go too

it's better to keep control of the work even if you aren't doing it

trouble makes some great points and you have the expertise to watch over the whole process

it always comes down to your time or your $$$$, so you have to balance how much of each you can afford

[wildeyed]

18. I'm not working outside the home right now

and the kids are somewhat easier to supervise than they were even six months ago, so maybe this is the way to go. If I get a bad sub-contractor, it sucks, but not nearly as much as dealing with a bad general contractor.

[Warpy]

11. It sounds like you've done your homework

so you should be fine. Just don't give him that final job payment (and make it substantial) until the work is finished, good advice for any contractor.

I've always done just about what you did, asked for bids, taken one up from the lowball bid, gone with my gut to eliminate the sleazes. I've had good work done and I've recommended the people I've hired. I always give feedback to wherever I've found them.

Kitchens require a lot of bullwork. Contracting it out is a smart thing to do.

[Arkansas Granny]

19. I would suggest that any estimate you get be in writing with a

detailed list of work to be done and payment schedule clearly defined. This eliminates any confusion between you and the contractor and protects both parties. It would also allow you to more easily compare estimates from different contractors.